Monday, July 22, 2013

A regular resident of mid-Michigan backyards, the Northern Cardinals form one of the bird world's most faithful pair bonds. The male and female remain in close contact year-round, singing to one another through the seasons with soft, bubbly whistles. The female is known to sing while on the nest, and it is believed that she is informing her partner whether or not she or the young need food.

The red color of the Cardinal’s feathers is
the result of pigments called carotenoids. The amount of the pigment
ingested, and then deposited in the feathers as they molt in the fall, influences
the quality and depth of their red coloration. A study
done by the Ohio State University found that juveniles, less
efficient foragers than adults, often have a duller red feather coloration.

At the feeding stations the birds tend to prefer
seeds that provide the most nutrients. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service published a landmark study of bird food preferences in 1980 for
several bird species and found cardinals exhibited the greatest
preference for fresh oil sunflower, peanuts, safflower, and millet. They avoid
buckwheat, cracked corn, milo, oats, wheat, nyjer, canary, flax,
rapeseed, and rice.

A cardinal's food habits in the north consists of more than 75% plant
material from November to April. From May to October it changes to about
50% plant and the rest consists of animal matter predominately from
insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, butterfly and moth
larvae, cicadas, treehoppers, leafhoppers, and dragonflies.

Regardless of the season, the bird species you attract is determined primarily by
the seeds you offer. To provide the most beneficial foods to meet birds'
nutritional needs, the birds in Michigan should be fed fresh Black-Oil
Sunflower, Sunflower Chips, White Proso Millet, Safflower, Peanuts, Nyjer®
Thistle, nectar, mealworms, or suet.

Avoid purchasing seed blends
that contain filler
seeds that will be kicked out of the feeder and can leave a
dangerous moldy pile under your feeders.

Wild Birds Unlimited No-mess Blend is our
best selling blend. It has everything the birds want and leaves no messy shells
behind. For more info on our unique No-Mess Blend bird seed which features
seeds that have had their shells removed so only the meat of the seed is left,
click HERE.

Whatever seed,
seed
cake, or suet
you choose at Wild Birds Unlimited, we guarantee it will be fresh and a healthy
choice for our local birds.